Seti I: The Phenomenal Egyptian Pharaoh of the New Kingdom
Seti I, also known as Menmaatre Seti I is the second pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty of Egypt, in the New Kingdom.
The Egyptian priest Manetho falsely claimed him as the founder of the 19th Dynasty and permitted him a reign length of 55 years, although no evidence has ever been found for such a long reign.
Read the article to find out more.
Who Was Seti I?
Seti I was the child of Sitre and Ramesses I, and the husband of Queen Tuya. Just like with most other pharaohs, Seti had numerous names. His name “Seti” means “of Set,” which specifies that Seti I was dedicated to Set the god.
Upon sitting on the throne, he appropriated the “Menmaatre” as prenomen meaning “Established is the Justice of Re.” His popular nomen is transliterated as “Sety Merenptah,” or “Man of Set, beloved of Ptah.”
The Reestablishment of the State
Due to huge social upheavals caused by the religious reform of Amenhotep IV from the 18th Dynasty and the escalating external pressures from the Hittite state, Seti I, together with the kings before him, Horemheb and Ramesses I, focused on reestablishing order in their empire and reasserting Egypt’s prestige over Syria and Canaan.
Seti I opposed the Hittites numerous times with the will to eliminate the Hittites but failed. Yet, he conquered most of the contested areas for Egypt and completed his military battles with success.
Seti I remarkably made establishments to develop the richness of Egypt. He opened quarries and mines, dug wells, strengthened the frontier, and rebuilt temples and shrines that had been damaged. He recommenced his father’s work of building the Karnak Hypostyle Hall that is considered one of the greatest constructions of Egyptian architecture.
Reestablishment of the Infrastructure
He also built a memorial temple at Abydos that he dedicated to his father, Ramesses I. Behind this temple is a peculiar building dedicated to deities, especially Osiris, and decorated with reliefs of great delicacy, on which much of the original color remains, known as the Osireion. It is a lengthy tunnel that leads to a vast hall and depicts scenes from the Book of Gates.
The structure symbolizes the origins of Egyptian civilization from the primeval waters as it is surrounded by canal water. This is where Seti I rested after his death and before occupying his tomb in the Valley of the Kings. This tomb is one of the actual works that he finished, the longest and deepest, and was, beyond any doubt, exceptional in the Valley of the Kings in western Thebes.
Pharaoh Seti I’s Reign Duration
Seti I succeeded the throne from his father, Ramesses I, who reigned only for two years. Thus, basically, it was Seti I who was the actual founder of the great reign of the Ramessids. The length of his reign has been estimated to be between 11 and 15 years according to Kenneth Kitchen, an Egyptologist, but no data has been discovered to support his claim.
This evidence casts doubt on the concept of a 15-year reign of Seti the First and implies that he died just after 10 to 11 years of his reign. This is because only about two years would have gone by between the beginning and the partial embellishment and completion embellishment of the rock quarries.
Many of Seti I’s partially completed monuments, including the portions of the temples at Abydos and Gurnah as well as the southern half of Karnak Great Hypostyle Hall had to be completed by Ramesses II during his first year.
As Seen by Scholars
In his Year 9, Seti chose his son, Ramesses II, as his appointed successor and crown prince, but the proof for a coregency between the two monarchs seems inaccurate. Peter J. Brand emphasized in his study that the decorative details at several temple sites at Abydos, Karnak, and Qurna, which associate Seti I with his son, Ramesses II, were actually engraved after Seti’s death by his son himself.
These cannot be considered evidence to back up the statement regarding the alleged co-regency between the two kings.
Kenneth Kitchen, a British biblical scholar, rejected the term co-regency to describe the relationship between the two monarchs. He considered the earliest period of Ramesses II’s career as a “prince regency,” in which he indulged all the accompaniments of royalty, including the use of a royal titulary and harem, but did not count his years of ascension to the throne until after Seti I’s death. Therefore, the evidence for a co-regency between the two kings is not exactly established.
The Abydos Dedicatory Inscription and the Kuban Stele of Ramesses II are two of the major writings from the first decade of Ramesses’ reign. These persistently give him titles linked with those of a crown prince only, namely, the “hereditary prince,” “king’s eldest son,” or “child-heir to the throne,” together with some military titles. However, no clear evidence supports the hypothesis that Ramesses II was a co-regent under his father.
From Recent Findings
Brand indicated that one of the two rock stelae in Aswan shows that Seti I had commanded the making of numerous projects for the commissioning of the enormous obelisk and impressive statues under “L.P.H” which is under his sovereignty. He even made enormous flatboats for its transportation and assigned ship troops to accompany them from inside the quarry.
However, Brand said that the four seated colossi and two obelisks from Luxor were completed during the first year of Ramesses II’s reign. They were partly inscribed sometime in his year two when the final form of his prenomen was used. There were few obelisks, and, evidently, there were no colossi inscribed for Seti I.
The current situation highly suggests that after 10 to 11 years, Seti I died. If he had been in control until his 14th or 15th year, then certainly numerous obelisks and colossi he permitted in his 9th year would have been finished, especially those that are situated in Luxor.
This suggests that the lengthy 14- to 15-year reign of Seti I can be rejected because it is lacking in evidence. Rather, an administration of 10 or, distinctly possible, 11 years seemed to be the most probable scenario.
As Seen by Egyptologists
According to Jürgen von Beckerath, a German Egyptologist, Seti I reigned for 11 years based on the date of Ramesses II’s rise to power as it was inscribed on a stele from Gebel Barkal.
In the year 2012, Jacobus van Dijk, an Egyptologist and archeologist, doubted the “Year 11” written on Gebel Barkal stele. This statue is quite poorly preserved, but it still portrays Seti I in the erect position, which was the only instance that happened since his Year 4 when the representation in a bending or stooping posture on his stelae started.
Eventually, Van Dijk came up with the idea that the concept of Gebel Barkal stele dates back to Year 3 and that his highest date more likely is Year 9. This was suggested by the evidence identified in his tomb, such as wine jars. In a 2012 paper, these wine jars were examined by David Aston and came up with the same interpretation because no wine labels were found in his tomb that would be above his eighth regnal year.
Seti I and the Prince of Egypt
Seti I was an influential and authoritative leader during his tenure. According to one theory, considering that Israelites were being a threat to the Egyptians, he commanded that all the children born to the Hebrews be thrown into the Nile River to make sure that they did not multiply and uprise against his empire.
According to this same theory, Seti I, being the proudest king of Egypt, feared the possible rebellion of the increasing numbers of the tribe, and he enslaved and killed innocent lives. He and his wife, Queen Tuya, together with their son, Ramesses II, adopted Moses, the baby who survived the massacre in the Nile River and, later on, became the “Prince of Egypt.” Seti I and Moses had a very good relationship, considering that Seti I is the adoptive father and proud ruler at that time, as was dramatized in the 1956 movie "The Ten Commandments" by Cecil B. DeMille.
Moses was the child of the Hebrews Yocheved and Amram and the younger brother of Miriam and Aaron. He lived a carefree life as a prince as the adoptive younger brother of Ramesses II. Later on, Moses discovered his true identity, liberated the Hebrews from slavery, and escaped the pharaoh’s iron hand.
Campaigns
During the first decade of his reign, Egyptian Pharaoh Seti I faced numerous battles against Libya, Nubia, and Western Asia. Those military activities and battle scenes are portayed on the northern wall of the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak, together with various majestic stelae that consist of inscriptions that acknowledged campaigns in Nubia and Canaan.
The Battle
In the first year, Seti I and his forces marched across a coastal road which provided a way from the northeastern part of the Nile Delta, the City of Tjaru, alongside the northern seaboard region of Sinai Peninsula that led up to Canaan in Gaza strip using the “Horus Military Road.”
This road consisted of sets of military garrisons, each equipped with a well, as also depicted in great detail in the illustration of war scenes of the king on the Karnak Hypostyle Hall’s northern wall.
His troops battled local Bedouins, namely, the Shasu, while traveling Sinai. He had given the commendation of some of the city-states he paid a visit to in Canaan. Some city-states including Yenoam and Beth-Shan had to be arrested but were certainly conquered.
A stele erected in Beth-Shan was a witness to that reconquest. Seti I overcame Asian nomads versus the Apirus or Hebrews according to Grdsseloff, Rowe, Albrecht et Albright.
The Defeat
The strike on Yenoam was depicted in his battle scenes, while the conquer of Beth-Shan was not. Seti I just sent a part of his forces and did not participate. The battle pushed through Lebanon, in which its chief submitted to the king and even paid tribute by cutting down valuable woods, such as cedar.
Libyans continued to display an intensifying threat to the following administration of Seti I, although they were already defeated when they invaded Egypt’s western border at some point during his reign. In the eighth year of Seti I, his forces also subdued an insignificant revolt in Nubia, where Seti I did not engage but sent his crown prince, Ramesses II, instead.
The capture of the Kadesh and its neighboring territory, Amurru, from the Hittite Empire was one of the greatest achievements of Seti I as Tutankhamun and Horemheb, the leaders before him, failed to capture it during their respective tenures. Seti I, together with Ramesses II, triumphed over Hittite armies and erected a stele to acknowledge their victory.
The Aftermath
However, the control over Kadesh soon returned to the Hittites because Egyptians cannot maintain permanent authority over the area. By the time of Ramesses II’s reign, he tried to reconquer Kadesh but failed. In the eighth year, he temporarily occupied the city, even though it was kept by the Hittites.
King Seti I believed that he reestablished Egyptian sovereignty after bring evaded during the period of Akhenaten.
This information was based on the Amarna Letters, a file of diplomatic correspondences from Akhenaten’s reign, found in el-Amarna, Akhenaten’s capital in Central Egypt. It depicted a chaotic picture of Egyptian-controlled Palestine and Syria.
Seti I left majestic war monuments and numerous texts that tend to acknowledge his personal achievements in battle which stood the test of time. Many of the great successors to the Egyptian throne were from his lineage; one of the most famous was Ramesses II, who succeeded his throne upon his death and continued his royal duties.
Death and Mummification
Cause of Death
The death of Seti I was caused by the betrayal of forbidden love between Anck-Su-Namun, the future bride and concubine of the pharaoh, and the high priest of Osiris, Imhotep. When Seti I came to realize that Anck-Su-Namun had been having an affair, he paid a visit to her residence that evening and found out that her body paint was smudged.
This showed that she had been touched, which she was not allowed to be. While Seti I demanded to know who held her, Imhotep drew a sword as he stood behind the pharaoh. Imhotep and Anck-Su-Namun both ended up stabbing Seti I to death.
By that time, Nefertiri, who had been looking from her balcony, saw the incident. She called out for help to the Medjai, the pharaoh’s exceptional defenders, but it was too late. Anck-Su-Namun soon committed suicide upon Seti I’s death.
Many years later, the museum curator of the Cairo Museum of Antiquities, where Seti I’s remains were put on a display, said that Seti I rested well in the afterlife. On the contrary, his high priest, Imhotep the traitor, did not.
Another Theory About His Death
Apparently, the story of Anck-Su-Namun and Imhotep’s betrayal conflicts with the investigation of Seti I's mummy. The investigation revealed that he died from a disease related to his heart that affected him for years.
He has an extremely well-preserved mummy, and he seemed to have been no older than 40 years old when he suddenly died. The cause of his relatively early death is undetermined, but his mummy shows no proof of violence or brutality.
Later on, his body was found decapitated, but this was presumably caused by tomb robbers after his death. His head was successfully reattached to his body with the help of Amun priests by using some linen cloth.
Mummification
His mummy was said to be about 1.7 meters tall. Émil Brugsch discovered the mummy on June 6, 1881 at Deir el-Bahri and has been kept at the Egyptian Museum located in Cairo. Seti I’s mummy is said to be the finest of all surviving royal mummies considering how well-preserved it was despite the attempts of tomb robbers.
Together with 17 other kings and 4 queens, Seti I’s mummy was moved to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization from the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in April 2021.
Placed at the Museum
Seti I has an enormous sarcophagus, sculpted in a single piece and sophisticatedly embellished on each side. It can be located in Sir John Soane’s Museum.
When the British Museum declined to compensate the £2,000 demanded, he bought it for his personal exhibition in his 1824 open collection. It was pure white with blue copper sulphate inlaid when it first arrived.
Unfortunately, the country’s unfavorable pollution and climate caused the alabaster to darken to a buff or off-white color. The absorbed moisture also leads to the hygroscopic inlay substance to come out and completely disappearing totally. A small watercolor display nearby recorded the appearance of how it looked before.
In 1817, Giovanni Battista Belzoni found the well-preserved tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Among all the New Kingdom royal tombs, the tomb of Seti I was proven to be the deepest and longest at 446 feet (136 meters). It was also the first tomb to be embellished with decorative features on every passageway and chamber with highly polished bas-reliefs and paintings having various colors.
Some of its portions, including a large column depicting Seti I with the goddess Hathor, can be found in the National Archaeological Museum in Florence. This innovational and attractive style set off a precedent that was continued in full or in part in the tombs of later rulers of the New Kingdom.
Findings of Experts
Belzoni’s team estimated a 100 meter-long entrance to the tomb that led to a tunnel concealed behind the sarcophagus. However, the same tunnel was not accurately excavated until the year 1961, when another team by Sheikh Ali Abdel-Rasoul started digging with the intention of discovering a secret burial chamber that holds hidden treasures.
The team had to come to a halt though because of the instabilities and precariousness in the tunnel due to their failure to follow the initial passage in their exhumation and excavation.
Furthermore, conflicts in terms of finances and permits rapidly ended Sheikh Ali Abdel-Rasoul’s aspirations for Egyptian treasure. Nevertheless, their efforts were at least able to determine that the passage was over 30 meters longer than the initial estimated length.
Soon after the discovery of a downward-sloping passageway starting approximately 136 meters (446 feet) towards the formerly excavated tunnel in 2007, Dr. Zahi Hawass led a team from Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities in June 2010.
They completed the excavation of the tunnel. They discovered two distinct staircases and discovered that the tunnel is about 174 meters or 571 feet in length. Unfortunately, the final part seemed to have been deserted before completion, and no secret burial chamber was found.
Conclusion
Seti I demonstrated a significant leadership that can be perceived all throughout Egypt’s history, regardless of the amount of time he reigned.
Historians state contrasting durations of his reign with 1290 BC and 1294 BC up to 1279 BC, but dates are still unclear even up to this day.
It has been debated how long Seti I was seated on the throne, but it is undeniable how much he contributed to Egypt’s prosperity and greatness.
He triumphantly fulfilled his objective of expanding the country’s borders by using his military forces.
He successfully built various marvels of architecture that increased the country’s assets.
He equipped his son, Ramesses II, to continue reestablishing Egypt’s sovereignty.
He was considered a great king by his peers, highlighting exceptional progression and revolution during his reign.
A leader that has been known for hundreds of years, with his pride being the reflection of his achievements not only for Egypt but also for his family. Seti I can be considered as a league of his own, a true father of Egypt, and a ruler that left a mark for his successors to learn and apply.
